Arch Manning glazed by ABC broadcast Credit: SEC on ABC
By Brendon Kleen on

The story of this college football season was supposed to be Arch Manning leading the Texas Longhorns to national championship contention.

As early as a Week 1 road loss to Ohio State, those hopes were dashed for Texas fans and college football broadcasters dreaming of another Manning in the national spotlight. Manning and the Longhorns sputtered through September, putting up just 27 points against a bad UTEP team and then losing to a below-.500 Florida squad.

But a big win in the Red River Rivalry last month put Manning and Texas back on the national map. Following up on that impressive statement, a strong showing at home against Vanderbilt (despite an admiral comeback by the Commodores) this weekend was enough for ABC announcers Sean McDonough and Greg McElroy to not only start hyping a looming game against Georgia, but also to aggressively relaunch Manning’s Heisman campaign.

During a Texas scoring drive in the third quarter that put the Longhorns up three touchdowns, McDonough and McElroy offered a full-throated endorsement of Manning to be in the mix for college football’s top individual prize.

Citing a production meeting with head coach Steve Sarkisian, McDonough highlighted Manning’s “growth” in-season, while McElroy flipped Manning’s dismal start as a positive.

“To have that experience now, still with everything to play for right in front of you, knowing that you can take the absolute heat that he’s taken and bounce back says a lot,” McElroy said.

After two more confident completions by Manning, McDonough went a step further.

“Arch Manning was the preseason (Heisman) favorite … he’s fallen completely off the board,” McDonough said. “He’s on target again and he might be reigniting candidacy with this performance!”

The Longhorns went on to score on the drive and go up 21, giving the ABC broadcast even more ammunition for its Arch Manning narrative.

“Steve Sarkisian, he’s got Arch Manning playing like his uncles after all,” McElroy said.

Manning, of course, is the nephew of Super Bowl champions (and ESPN partners) Peyton and Eli Manning.

Even during a sideline report from the veteran Heather McGrath, the ABC team framed Manning’s ability to push through neck soreness and scrapes on his throwing arm as a special form of toughness.

Multiple times the rest of the game, McElroy made a point to showcase Manning’s patience, accuracy and decision-making. Throughout, the announcing team continually referred back to the supposedly outsized expectations placed upon Manning early on and how he was rewriting the story in real time.

Elsewhere on Saturday, season-long Heisman candidate Julian Sayin threw a near perfect game for Ohio State in a blowout win over Penn State. Even Pavia nearly came back to beat Manning in the very same game that Manning supposedly rejuvenated his campaign to be named the best player in college football.

If there were ever a case of sports media eating its own tail, it is happening during this Manning season. Desperate to crown the young prince of football’s royal family, Manning was lauded as the next big thing at Texas. The backlash was equally strong after a bad September, leading to a fresh round of anti-Manning takes.

And on Saturday, ESPN and ABC led the way to place Manning right back at the center of the college football universe — whether he has earned it or not.

About Brendon Kleen

Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.

View all posts by Brendon Kleen